• 대한간호학회지
• /
• 제51권5호
• /
• pp.549-560
• /
• 2021

Purpose: This study evaluated the validity and reliability of the Korean version of the Face Mask Use Scale (K-FMUS) among community-dwelling adults. Methods: The participants of the study were community-dwelling adults in Korea using face masks during the COVID-19 pandemic. The English FMUS was translated into Korean using forward and backward translation procedures. The construct validity and reliability of the K-FMUS were evaluated using the exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses and the internal consistency reliability test. Results: The K-FMUS comprised 6 items divided into 2 factors. The variance of the factors was approximately 79.1%, which suggested that the scale indicated the effectiveness of face mask usage. The two factors were labeled as face mask use in society (4 items) and face mask use at home (2 items). Cronbach's α value for the overall scale was .88. Conclusion: The K-FMUS is a valid and reliable scale that can be used to measure face mask usage among community-dwelling adults in Korea during the COVID-19 pandemic.

• 한국의상디자인학회지
• /
• 제23권2호
• /
• pp.93-104
• /
• 2021

The worldwide coronavirus pandemic has brought to light the importance of having a reliable supply of masks for each person. This study aims to understand the effect of personal awareness (including community, others', and safety awareness) on consumption conformity and the repurchase intention of masks. The research method used the SPSS 22.0 and AMOS 22.0 statistical systems to analyze descriptive statistics in terms of reliability, validity, structural equation modeling, and moderated regression analysis. A total of 272 Chinese participants were recruited via an online survey website (www.sojump.com) from May 1 to May 14, 2020. Findings indicated that mask users' awareness can be categorized into three distinct types: community, others', and safety awareness. The more community and safety awareness is perceived, the higher the level of consumption conformity. In contrast, others' has no statistical effect on consumption conformity or repurchase intention. The positive influence of consumption conformity on the repurchase intention of masks is also weaker than price perception. However, another moderating variable, mask quality, has no moderating effect. The results of this study can help mask manufacturers and distributors retain their customers, resulting in reasonable protective measures while maintaining market order. Theoretical and managerial implications for mask suppliers are also provided.

• 한국치위생학회지
• /
• 제24권2호
• /
• pp.163-174
• /
• 2024

Objectives: This study aimed to understand the knowledge, attitude, and wearing of four types of personal protective equipment among dental hygienists based on to the COVID-19 infection control guidelines and to provide basic data on the need to wear these equipment by dental hygienists in dental medical institutions. Methods: Between March 31 and April 26, 2022, 285 dental hygienists working at dental institutions in Busan and Gyeongsang Provinces participated in the study. Results: The higher the knowledge on personal protective equipment, the higher the glove-wearing rate; and the higher the attitude toward personal protective equipment, the higher the KF94 mask-wearing rate. Furthermore, the higher the rate of wearing face shields, the higher the rate of wearing gloves and full-body protective suits; and the higher the rate of wearing gloves, the higher the rate of wearing a full-body protective suit. Conclusions: To prevent cross-infection by dental hygienists in dental medical institutions, it is necessary to have the four types of personal protective equipment at all times and to strengthen comprehensive education on these equipment

• 한국입자에어로졸학회지
• /
• 제19권1호
• /
• pp.1-11
• /
• 2023

Respiratory face masks are protective facepieces that are designed to filter inhaled air. They are easy-to-use devices that can protect the wearer against various hazardous particles in the air. Respiratory face masks also prevent the spread of viruses and bacteria-containing droplets that are released from the coughing or sneezing of the infected people. During the COVID-19 pandemic, various types of face masks have circulated on the market. Their ability to filter sub-micron particles, which are the sizes of harmful particulate matter and airborne viruses, needs to be investigated. Their breathability, the easiness of breath through the mask, also needs to be considered. In this study, wwe evaluated the performance of filters used for different types of face masks certified by different standards including Korean (KF94, KF80, KF-AD), USA (N95), and Chinese (KN95) standards. We also tested the filters of nanofiber masks and surgical masks for which there are no standards for filtration test. The N95 mask filters showed the highest quality factor for capturing virus-sized particles. The other types of mask filters have acceptable performance except for nanofiber mask filters whose performance is very low.

• 대한전기학회:학술대회논문집
• /
• 대한전기학회 2004년도 추계학술대회 논문집 전기물성,응용부문
• /
• pp.268-270
• /
• 2004

This paper reports a novel masking method with various mask materials for wet etching of glass. Various mask materials such as Cr/Au, Ti/Au, Polyimide and thick SU-8 photoresist were investigated for borosilicate glass (Borofloat33) etching in concentrated hydrofluoric acid (48% HF). Polyimide and thick SU-8 photoresist are not suitable as masking material due to its poor adhesion to glass surfaces. Titanium has good adhesion is suitable as the first layer to make multi-protective layers. The best protection was obtained with a combination of Ti/Au, polyimide and Ti/Au as masking material with etch depth of $350{\mu}m$ achieved.

• 대한치과기공학회지
• /
• 제33권1호
• /
• pp.93-102
• /
• 2011

Purpose: The study aimed to evaluate working environment for dental technician by measuring dust level, ventilation conditions and the use of personal protective equipment and to provide basic information required to improve working environment and develop health education programs for dental technician. Methods: A total of 240 dental technician who are registered with the Daegu Association of Dental technician and working at 34 dental laboratories participated in the study. And the dust level was measured at 21 different spots in 16 dental laboratories out of 34. Results: Of 34 dental laboratories, 31 (91.2%) were equipped with a ventilator, but the remaining 3 (8.8%) did not have a ventilator. By the number of ventilator, 1 to 3 ventilators were found in 22 dental laboratories (71.0%), 4 to 6 ventilators were in 7 laboratories (22.5%) and more than 7 ventilators in 2 laboratories(6.5%). According to the frequence of changing filters in dust collector, 20 dental laboratories (58.9%) changed filters every four weeks, 10 laboratories (29.4%) changed them every six weeks and 4 laboratories (11.7%) changed them every eight weeks. Of total respondents, 114 (61.3%) said they wore a mask all the time while working, 56 (29.6%) said they frequently wore a mask, 19 (10.1%) said they did not wear a mask. As for the type of masks, 159 (84.1%) used a disposable mask, 25 (13.2%) used a cotton mask and 5 (2.7%) used an anti-dust mask. For dust sat on their outfits while working, 102 (54.0%) shook their uniforms inside workplace to keep dust off the uniforms, 64 (33.9%) did not anything until they wash their uniforms and 23 (12.1%) shook their uniforms outside workplace to keep dust off the uniforms. Of total respondents, 182 (96.3%) had a particle in their eyes while carrying out grinding work. Based on the measurement of floating dust at workplace, 3 dental laboratories showed dust concentration exceeding the minimum level of 10 mg/$m^3$ allowed under the permit for environment. Of those, 1 laboratory had the dust concentration that was more than 1.5 times higher than the minimum level. Dust concentration was higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. Dust comprised of nickel (more than 70%), chrome (9%) and others. The mean chrome concentration was more than twice higher than the minimum permissible level of 0.5 mg/$m^3$. There were two laboratories that showed chrome concentration exceeding the level of 0.4 mg/$m^3$. Like dust concentration, chrome level was higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. There were six laboratories that had nickel concentration exceeding the minimum permissible level of 1 mg/$m^3$. Of those, one laboratory had nickel concentration that was more than three times higher than the minimum permissible level. Nickel concentration was also higher in laboratories that used a dust collector with 0.5 horse power and changed filters more than 3 weeks ago. Conclusion: It is not likely that heavy metal concentrations found in the study constitute respiratory dust. It is however necessary for health of dental technician to apply the Industrial Safety and Healthy Law to dental laboratories and make recommendations for the use of personal protective equipment, installation of a proper number of ventilators, more frequent change of filters in dust collector and improved ventilation for polishing work. At the same time, dental technician need education on how to use personal protective equipment and how to efficiently remove dust from their uniforms.

• 한국안전학회지
• /
• 제31권5호
• /
• pp.35-41
• /
• 2016

Particulate filtering facepiece respirators (PFFR) is one of the most widely used items of personal protective equipments, and a tight fit of the respirators on the wearers is critical for the protection effectiveness. In order to effectively protect the workers through the respirators, it is important to find and evaluate the ways that can be readily applicable at the workplace to improve the fit of the respirators. This study was designed to evaluate effects of mask style (cup or foldable type) and donning training on fit factors (FF) of the respirators, since these are available at various workplace, especially at small business workplace. A total of 40 study subjects, comprised of 30~50s aged male and female workers in metalworking industries, were enrolled in this study. The FF were quantitatively measured before and after training related to the proper donning and use of cup or foldable-type respirators. The pass/fail criterion of FF was set at 100. After the donning training for the cup-type mask, subjects who passed the fit test were increased from 10 to 33. Moreover, the geometric mean (GM) of FF was increased by 340% in subjects who failed the test. In addition, the training effects for the cup-type mask were significant in female and 50s aged subjects. On the other hand, although the GM of FF for the foldable-type mask was also increased after the donning training, the GM of FF for the foldable-type mask and it's increase rate were smaller as compared to the cup-type mask. Furthermore, the differences of the increase rates of the GM of FF in sex and aged of the subjects were not significantly for the foldable-type mask. The multi-distribution of leak points for the foldable-type mask may be one of causes for the less effect of training on the fit of the foldable-type mask. These results imply that the raining on the donning and use of PFFR can enhance the protection effectiveness of cup or foldable-type mask, and that the training effects for the foldable-type mask is less significant than that for the cup-type mask. Therefore, It is recommended that the donning training and fit tests should be conducted before the use of the PFFR, and that efficient tranining programs for the foldable-type mask are required.

• Medical Lasers
• /
• 제8권2호
• /
• pp.43-49
• /
• 2019

The plume produced by vaporizing tissue with a laser contains a variety of contaminants called laser-generated air pollutants (LGACs). LGACs consist of a mixture of toxic gas components, biomicroparticles, dead and living cells, and viruses. Toxic odors and thick smoke from surgical incisions and the coagulation of tissues can irritate eyes and airways, as well as cause bronchial and pulmonary congestion. Because of the potential risk of the smoke, it is advisable to appropriately remove it from the surgical site. We recommend using a smoke evacuator to remove the smoke. Suction nozzles should be placed as close as possible to the surgical site in a range of 2 cm or less. In-line filters should be used between the inlet and outlet of the surgical site. All air filtration devices should be capable of removing particles below 0.1 microns in size. The filter pack should be handled according to infection control procedures in the operating room. The laser mask can be an auxiliary protective device if it is properly worn. Some smoke inhaled under the nose wrap or over the side of the mask will not be filtered. As in electrosurgical operations, a suitable mask should be worn while smoke is present.

• The Korean Journal of Pain
• /
• 제34권2호
• /
• pp.241-245
• /
• 2021

Background: It has been reported that a new type of headache may develop as a result of face mask use during the COVID-19 pandemic. The aim of this study is to investigate the clinical features of face mask-related headache during the COVID-19 pandemic. Methods: This is a cross-sectional study carried out on healthcare workers at the Afyonkarahisar Health Sciences University. The number of workers at our university was established. Sample size was calculated using the G*Power program. A questionnaire consisting of questions relating to pre-existing headache, an aggravation in headache, and de-novo headache was filled out by 3 neurologists with all participants. Results: Data was collected from a total of 375 participants, after the exclusion of 5 individuals who refused to participate. Out of all participants, 26 (6.9%) used a filtering mask, 274 (73.1%) used a surgical mask, 75 (20.0%) participants used a combination of both masks. The number of participants with preexisting headache was 114 (30.4%) had pre-existing headache. Of those with pre-existing headache, 77 (67.5%) healthcare workers had reported an aggravation in their headache after mask use. De-novo headache was observed in 116 (30.9%) of participants. De-novo headache characteristics included throbbing in 17 (14.7%) participants and pressing in 99 (85.3%) participants. In addition, symptoms such as tachypnea, sleep disturbance, and fatigue were found to be significantly higher. Conclusions: This study indicates that healthcare workers develop headaches due to use of masks during the COVID-19 outbreak.

• 한국의류산업학회지
• /
• 제22권6호
• /
• pp.862-872
• /
• 2020

This study explores the effects of facemasks on respiratory, thermoregulatory, cardiovascular responses during exercise on a treadmill and at rest. Five male subjects (25.8 ± 0.8 y, 171.8 ± 9.2 cm in height, 79.8 ± 28.1 kg in weight) participated in the following five experimental conditions: no mask, KF80, KF94, KF99, and N95. Inhalation resistance was ranked as KF80 < KF94 < N95 < KF99 and dead space inside a mask was ranked as KF80 = KF94 < N95 < KF99. The surface area covered by a mask was on average 1.1% of the total body surface area. The results showed no significant differences in body core temperature, oxygen consumption (VO2), carbon dioxide production (VCO2), heart rate or subjective perception among the five experimental conditions; however, cheek temperature, respiratory ventilation and blood pressure were greater for KF80 or KF94 conditions when compared to KF99 or N95 conditions (p<0.05). The differences among mask conditions are attributed to the dead space or specific designs (cup type vs pleats type) rather than the filtration level. In addition, the results suggest that improving mask design can help mitigate respiratory resistance from increased filtration.